The State of Play in Poland's Unconventional Shale and Oil Development

Following the huge gas and oil rush in the US, the world’s gas and oil companies have been eyeing reserves in other countries including Poland, which is believed to be sitting on one of the largest reserves in the European Union. The Poles, seeking to diversify their energy sources and meet EU emissions standards, which are driving up electricity costs, met the news with tremendous fanfare. Following initial geological assessments, major international oil and gas companies soon made announcements to begin drilling operations in Poland. However, one of the major challenges of shale gas development is that is often requires voluminous speculative activity before the gas is successfully extracted. In the U.S. this was not such a problem because of several adventuresome energy firms willing to take on risk, but in Poland (and Europe in general) such firms are rare, and in former communist countries these firms are rarer still. This lack of critical infrastructure coupled with bureaucratic red tape in the permitting process has led to slow growth in exploration activities in Poland. Will Poland be able to successfully develop these resources? This manuscript explores the current state of play in Poland’s unconventional gas and oil development.